"Sewer service" is an exceptionally sneaky, immoral, and illegal tactic employed by a handful of process servers who are entrusted with the important responsibility of advising consumers regarding a lawsuit that has been filed against them, thereby ensuring their constitutionally protected right to defend themselves. However, instead of doing their job appropriately by serving (i.e. providing) a consumer with the legal documentation, a small number of process servers simply throw the documents into the "sewer" or some other, equally malodorous location. They then complete a fraudulent affidavit and fraudulently file it with the court, alleging that the documents have been provided to the consumer when in fact they are floating down the sewer. For consumers, this can be a nightmare!
Unfortunately, considering all of the cases that a court handles on a daily basis, it is impossible to know who has been properly served. When the process server files an affidavit with the court stating that a consumer has been served, the court does not contact the consumer to verify that this information is accurate. In the court's eyes, the affidavit is accurate, and when consumers who have never been served naturally fail to respond to a lawsuit, a default judgment is entered against them. The judgment then remains a public record, accruing interest and damaging an unwitting consumer's credit score. Often the first time consumers become aware of this judgment occurs when they review a copy of their credit report, but that may not happen for years, and by this time the judgment has accrued a significant amount of interest. At that point, consumers are completely blindsided and do not know where to turn for help.
"Sewer service" or "fraudulent service" is wholly illegal and terribly frightening, but unfortunately, it happens. The good news is that most states are beginning to dismiss lawsuits that are founded on these unlawful debt collection practices. If consumers are not properly served with court documentation to alert them of the lawsuit and are not provided with an opportunity to defend against it, then it is inappropriate at best to expect a court to enter a judgment against consumers who were never informed of the lawsuit in the first place.
"Sewer service" resulting in a judgment can be disastrous for consumers. Wages can be garnished, bank accounts can be frozen, and liens can be placed. However, as courts continue to crack down on "sewer service," consumers can score a victory for their rights to protection against these illegal debt collection practices by fighting such judgments. This occurs when consumers hire experienced legal counsel who can advise the court on their behalf that they were never properly served and that they have a right to properly defend themselves.
If you believe that a judgment has been falsely entered against you because you were never made aware of a lawsuit, it is critical for you to act fast in order to avoid any other undesirable consequences. Without question, a judgment of this nature can be financially disastrous for consumers.
Ignoring the judgment will not make it go away, but it will most certainly make matters worse. First and foremost, your best course of action is to speak with a highly experienced judgment attorney. However, before you retain the services of any attorney, it is important to confirm that they specialize in vacating judgments. Hiring an attorney with 25 years of experience in divorce or estate matters may not be such a good idea. Choose wisely and well from among those attorneys with a proven track record of defending against this illegal practice.
Leonard R. Gendelberg is a professional author of legal articles, a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law, and the founder of http://www.judgmentvacated.com/
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق